The Stick to Science initiative calls on President von der Leyen to safeguard science collaboration in Europe by allowing UK and Switzerland to join Horizon.
During their Council meeting on 10 June, EU research ministers covered a wide range of topics: Following on earlier Conclusions from September 2021 on the global approach to research and innovation, research ministers agreed on Council Conclusions laying out key values and principles that must guide the EU’s international cooperation in R&I. These values and principles cover scientific freedom, gender equality, research excellence, and the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, among others. Ministers added to the Conclusions a statement on Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and its impact on research and innovation. The Council welcomed the quick reaction of the European Commission (EC) and Member States to launch the portal ERA4Ukraine under the Euraxess network as a one-stop shop for information on support to researchers of Ukraine.
The already ongoing process towards an agreement on reforming research assessment received backing from Member States. Research Ministers adopted Council Conclusions on research assessment and the implementation of Open Science, acknowledging that “research assessment systems should focus on quality and impact” and recalling “that the current research assessment systems are nowadays to a great extent too focused on the use of some quantitative journal- and publication-based indicators”. The Council asks the EC and the Member States to include new research assessment principles in the development of the European Framework for research careers, the revision of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the recruitment of researchers, as well as the future establishment of the ERA Talent Platform. The ministers also highlighted “the important role of multilingualism in the context of science communication with society”.
Last but not least, Council adopted Council Conclusions on European Missions, in an effort to ensure effective governance of the EU framework programme’s youngest and still least established instrument, which was officially launched in September 2021 (see SwissCore article). In the conclusions, Research Ministers emphasise that the success of the five Missions depends on an effective ‘horizontal governance’, defined “as coordination between relevant actors, public policies, private initiatives and funding instruments and programmes at the same administrative level”, and ‘vertical governance’, defined as the respective coordination across multiple levels: European, national, regional and local. Therefore, the Conclusions highlight the importance of effective management of synergies between different contributing programmes and funding sources at the different levels. Ministers also affirm the importance of citizen engagement, underlining that the societal, environmental and economic challenges of the Missions can only be successfully tackled through a strengthened relationship between policy-making, science and society. The Conclusions also focus on the upcoming first assessment of the Missions, recalling that the EC has to carry out this review before 31 December 2023. The ministers recommended that no new mission should be created before the existing Missions have been positively evaluated.
On 9 June, the Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry) discussed the Chips Act, which, in light of the current semiconductor shortage across key supply chains, is intended to bolster the EU’s capacity to weather future shortages and to develop a stronger production capacity within the EU itself. The ministers supported the direction of the EC proposal from February 2022 (see SwissCore article) – and “noted the importance of developing international partnerships to strengthen the resilience and strategic autonomy of the European Union”. The EC’s proposal is currently under consideration by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
June brought also progress for the EU’s efforts to associate third countries to Horizon Europe. On 9 June, the association agreements of Ukraine and Tunisia entered into force. Both Agreements apply with retroactive effect from 1 January 2021. The negotiations with Morocco are still ongoing, while the EC has started exploratory talks with the Republic of Korea and Japan. The exploratory phase with Canada and New Zealand has been finalised and negotiations will start once the respective mandates are ready. The EC is currently also looking into the possibility to start association talks with Singapore, as Signe Ratso, Deputy Director-General of the EC’s DG Research and Innovation, tweeted on 15 June. This move, however, raises doubts whether the city state – defined as “partly free” by Freedom House – actually fulfills the criteria regarding the “respect of human rights, backed by democratic institutions”, that the Horizon Europe regulation requires from associated countries.
In the case of Switzerland and the UK, EU Commissioner Gabriel reiterated the EC’s position on 21 June, that association to Horizon Europe continues to be linked to political issues unrelated to the R&I field and the science community. In the case of the UK association is linked to post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland and, in the case of Switzerland, Gabriel said that association is linked to Switzerland’s future contribution to the EU’s cohesion policy budget, and to the access to the EU single market, and the free movement of people files. Meanwhile, on 22 June, the co-initiator organisations of the Stick to Science initiative called in an open letter on the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to “use your unique role to safeguard vital science collaboration in Europe and worldwide”. They emphasise that the “UK and Swiss association to Horizon Europe is currently tied together with broader political issues which, although of grave importance, are not linked to science” and ask the EC President to consider that “political relationships can heal, but the impact of fragmenting research now will continue to be felt in the decades to come”. The Stick to Science initiative is supported by more than 5’700 major research funding/performing bodies, umbrella organisations, individual researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators, calling for an open R&I landscape both at European and at international level.
On 7 June, the European Commission (EC) proposed the EU’s 2023 budget, including €103.5 billion in grants from NextGenerationEU under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to support economic recovery and growth, following the coronavirus pandemic and to address the challenges posed by the war in Ukraine. The budget proposal foresees €13.6 billion for research and innovation, of which €12.3 billion for Horizon Europe – €100 million more than in the 2022 budget commitment. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) would receive around €1 billion and the Euratom Research and Training Programme €276 million. Horizon Europe would, according to the proposal, receive a €1.8 billion top up from NextGenerationEU, the EU’s recovery instrument (see SwissCore article). The proposed Erasmus+ budget of €3.5 is almost €150 million more than the 2022 budget commitment. The EC aims, among its budgetary priorities, to “boost the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, to put Europe on the path towards a sustainable future, to protect and create jobs, and to strengthen the Union’s strategic autonomy”. The EC also announced that it will add proposals later in the year to finance measures addressing the impact of the war in Ukraine, after a more precise assessment of related needs.
The EC’s budget proposal is now under consideration by the European Parliament and the Council, which take the final decision together. It is foreseen that the Council shall adopt its opinion on the budget by the end of July – the European Parliaments will announce its official position in the autumn. A specific conciliation committee will be convened, which has to reconcile the positions of the EP and the Council between 25 October and 14 November 2022. This agreement on a common budget will then have to be approved by both institutions. Earlier this spring, on 5 April, the European Parliament in a resolution called for a “future-oriented budget that matches the Union’s political priorities of ensuring a stronger Health Union, making a success of the green and digital transitions, and fostering a fair, inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery, including increased support for small and medium-sized enterprises.” Already earlier, on 15 March 2022, the Council of the EU (Economic and Financial Affairs) adopted Council Conclusions on budget guidelines for 2023.